1908 Tour de France
Encyclopedia
The 1908 Tour de France was the sixth Tour de France
. Taking place between 13 July and 9 August 1908, the total race distance was 4497 kilometres (2,794.3 mi). After his 1907 victory, Lucien Petit-Breton
was considered main favourite. Winning 5 of the 14 stages and the overall classification, he showed that his 1907 victory was no surprise. Like its predecessors, the entrants and leader board were dominated by the French, however, there were two Italians and one Luxembourger in the final top 10.
. The rules were also the same; the point system was still used.
Before the start, the Tour de France made statements that all necesarry measures had been taken to prevent the regrettable incidents as in 1905
, and that the 'Apaches' had 90% chance of being caught and spending time in jail. Dismountable tyres were used for the first time; this meant that cyclists could repair their bicycles easier, and a flat tire cost them less time.
Because tour organiser Henri Desgrange
wanted to keep the Tour de France a race between individual athletes, all cyclists had to ride on frames provided by the Tour organisation.
Because the cyclists were not allowed to change bicycles, the separation in two different classes in the years before had disappeared, and all cyclists started in the same category.
The favourite for the victory was Lucien Petit-Breton, the winner of the previous edition. He was supported by his Peugeot-team, which included the best cyclists; in the five previous editions of the Tour de France, they had won 20 stages. In addition, Petit-Breton was a skilled bicycle mechanic, which was important because the rules said that cyclists had to repair their bicycle without help. The strongest opposition was expected from the Alcyon
team, led by Georges Passerieu
and Gustave Garrigou
.
French athlete Marie Marvingt
had tried to participate in the 1908 Tour de France, but was refused permission because the race was only open to men. She rode the route after the race, and managed to finish it.
's car broke down, and the tour organiser had to finish the stage in a horse-drawn carriage.
The Labor team started the race in yellow jerseys; in 1908 the yellow jersey for the race leader was not used yet. In the first stage, from Paris to Roubaix, the cobbles caused many crashes and flat tyres. It was won by Georges Passerieu
, while Petit-Breton finished second.
The second stage, from Roubaix to Metz, passed the Alsace-Lorraine
, then part of Germany. As in previous years, nails had been thrown on the road. This stage was won by Petit-Breton with Passerieu in second place. Having both won a stage and finished second in the other, Petit-Breton and Passerieu both had 3 points. Some sources show them joint leaders after that stage, while other sources show Passerieu as single leader.
In the third stage, started by Count Zeppelin
, the Labor boss sent a telegram to the manager of the team after another crash by a Labor team member (Jean Novo): "After Novo's crash and the mediocre results of the other riders, I have decided to abandon the race. You can all ease up and come back by train." The rest of the Tour would be dominated by the Peugeot
team, who won all the stages. At the third stage, Passerieu finished in 30th place; because Petit-Breton finished second, he was now leading the race by a big margin.
The fourth stage to Lyon was during a snow storm. Faber won that stage. Faber had finished at 49th place in the second stage, so he was no threat for the general classification.
In the sixth stage, the Côte de Laffrey
and the Col Bayard
were climbed, and André Pottier, the younger brother of 1906 Champion René Pottier
, reached the tops first. He could not keep his lead, as the stage was won by Jean-Baptiste Dortignacq
.
In the 9th stage, won by Petit-Breton, Faber jumped to the second position in the overall classification.
In the 13th stage, 415 km from Brest to Caen, the winner Passerieu took more than 16 hours to finish the stage. The last cyclist to finish that stage, Louis Di Maria, would need a record extra 23 hours to complete the stage.
Faber could pose no threat to Petit-Breton, and Petit-Breton won the Tour de France easily. His worst placement had been the 10th stage where he finished 10th at one second from the winner; all other stages he was in the top four, winning five of the stages.
After the last stage, there was a timed lap of 666 m at the Parc des Princes
velodrome in Paris, won by Henri Cornet
in 51.2 s. This was not counted as an official stage and had no influence on the overall classification.
The general classification was calculated by points: at every stage, the winner was given one point, the next cyclist two points, etc. After the eighth stage, when only 39 cyclists were still in the race, the points given in the first eight stages were redistributed among the remaining cyclists, in accordance with their positions in those stages.
Of the 114 starting cyclists, 36 finished. The Peugeot team had dominated the race; not only did their cyclists win all 14 stages, but they also had the top four places in the general classification. Even though cyclists entered the race as individuals, officially not connected to sponsors, most cyclists had a sponsor.
The organising newspaper l'Auto named Gustave Garrigou
the meilleur grimpeur. This unofficial title is the precursor to the mountains classification.
, Petit-Breton did not participate as a cyclist, but followed the race as a columnist.
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
. Taking place between 13 July and 9 August 1908, the total race distance was 4497 kilometres (2,794.3 mi). After his 1907 victory, Lucien Petit-Breton
Lucien Petit-Breton
Lucien Georges Mazan was a French racing cyclist .He was born in Plessé, Loire-Atlantique , a part of Brittany, now part of Pays de la Loire. When he was six he moved with his parents to Buenos Aires where he took Argentine nationality...
was considered main favourite. Winning 5 of the 14 stages and the overall classification, he showed that his 1907 victory was no surprise. Like its predecessors, the entrants and leader board were dominated by the French, however, there were two Italians and one Luxembourger in the final top 10.
Changes from the 1907 Tour de France
The 1908 Tour de France followed nearly the same route as the 1907 Tour de France1907 Tour de France
The 1907 Tour de France was the 5th annual Tour de France bicycle race. From 8 July to 4 August, participants cycled 4488 km . across France. The winner, Lucien Petit-Breton, completed the race at an average speed of 28.47 km/h . For the first time, climbs in the Western Alps were...
. The rules were also the same; the point system was still used.
Before the start, the Tour de France made statements that all necesarry measures had been taken to prevent the regrettable incidents as in 1905
1905 Tour de France
The 1905 Tour de France was the third Tour de France, held from 9 July to 30 July 1905, organized by the newspaper L'Auto. Following the disqualifications after the 1904 Tour de France, there were changes in the rules, the most important one being the general classification not made by time but by...
, and that the 'Apaches' had 90% chance of being caught and spending time in jail. Dismountable tyres were used for the first time; this meant that cyclists could repair their bicycles easier, and a flat tire cost them less time.
Because tour organiser Henri Desgrange
Henri Desgrange
Henri Desgrange was a French bicycle racer and sports journalist. He set 12 world track cycling records, including the hour record of 35.325 kilometres on 11 May 1893. He was the first organiser of the Tour de France.-Origins:Henri Desgrange was one of two brothers, twins...
wanted to keep the Tour de France a race between individual athletes, all cyclists had to ride on frames provided by the Tour organisation.
Participants
Before the race started, 162 cyclists had subscribed for the Tour de France, and received starting numbers. 48 cyclists did not start, so the first stage started with 114 cyclists.Because the cyclists were not allowed to change bicycles, the separation in two different classes in the years before had disappeared, and all cyclists started in the same category.
The favourite for the victory was Lucien Petit-Breton, the winner of the previous edition. He was supported by his Peugeot-team, which included the best cyclists; in the five previous editions of the Tour de France, they had won 20 stages. In addition, Petit-Breton was a skilled bicycle mechanic, which was important because the rules said that cyclists had to repair their bicycle without help. The strongest opposition was expected from the Alcyon
Alcyon (cycling team)
Alcyon is a former French professional cycling team that was active from 1906 to 1955. It was owned by Alcyon, a French bicycle, automobile and motorcycle manufacturer.- History :...
team, led by Georges Passerieu
Georges Passerieu
Georges Passerieu was a British-born French professional road bicycle racer, who won seven stages in the Tour de France, and reached the podium twice. He also was the winner of Paris–Roubaix and Paris–Tours.-Biography:Passerieu first rode the Tour in 1906, after he had just become a professional...
and Gustave Garrigou
Gustave Garrigou
Cyprien Gustave Garrigou was one of the best professional racing cyclists of his era. He rode the Tour de France eight times and won once...
.
French athlete Marie Marvingt
Marie Marvingt
Marie Marvingt was a French athlete, mountaineer, and aviator, and the most decorated woman in the history of France. She won numerous prizes for her sporting achievements and was the first woman to climb many of the peaks in the French and Swiss Alps...
had tried to participate in the 1908 Tour de France, but was refused permission because the race was only open to men. She rode the route after the race, and managed to finish it.
Race details
At one stage, Henri DesgrangeHenri Desgrange
Henri Desgrange was a French bicycle racer and sports journalist. He set 12 world track cycling records, including the hour record of 35.325 kilometres on 11 May 1893. He was the first organiser of the Tour de France.-Origins:Henri Desgrange was one of two brothers, twins...
's car broke down, and the tour organiser had to finish the stage in a horse-drawn carriage.
Georges Passerieu
Georges Passerieu was a British-born French professional road bicycle racer, who won seven stages in the Tour de France, and reached the podium twice. He also was the winner of Paris–Roubaix and Paris–Tours.-Biography:Passerieu first rode the Tour in 1906, after he had just become a professional...
, while Petit-Breton finished second.
The second stage, from Roubaix to Metz, passed the Alsace-Lorraine
Alsace-Lorraine
The Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine was a territory created by the German Empire in 1871 after it annexed most of Alsace and the Moselle region of Lorraine following its victory in the Franco-Prussian War. The Alsatian part lay in the Rhine Valley on the west bank of the Rhine River and east...
, then part of Germany. As in previous years, nails had been thrown on the road. This stage was won by Petit-Breton with Passerieu in second place. Having both won a stage and finished second in the other, Petit-Breton and Passerieu both had 3 points. Some sources show them joint leaders after that stage, while other sources show Passerieu as single leader.
In the third stage, started by Count Zeppelin
Ferdinand von Zeppelin
Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin was a German general and later aircraft manufacturer. He founded the Zeppelin Airship company...
, the Labor boss sent a telegram to the manager of the team after another crash by a Labor team member (Jean Novo): "After Novo's crash and the mediocre results of the other riders, I have decided to abandon the race. You can all ease up and come back by train." The rest of the Tour would be dominated by the Peugeot
Peugeot (cycling team)
Peugeot team was a French professional cycling team that promoted and rode Peugeot racing bikes.It is listed as the most successful cycling team of all time, on www.cyclingranking.com, with a large margin on the second placed team, Alcyon.-History:...
team, who won all the stages. At the third stage, Passerieu finished in 30th place; because Petit-Breton finished second, he was now leading the race by a big margin.
The fourth stage to Lyon was during a snow storm. Faber won that stage. Faber had finished at 49th place in the second stage, so he was no threat for the general classification.
In the sixth stage, the Côte de Laffrey
Rampe de Laffrey
The Rampe de Laffrey is a section of France's Route nationale 85, today called the Route Napoléon, located in the department of Isère between the communes of Laffrey and Vizille, about fifteen kilometers southeast of Grenoble...
and the Col Bayard
Col Bayard
Col Bayard is a mountain pass through the Dauphiné Alps in the department of Isère in France.It connects the communities of La Mure and Gap.-See also:* List of highest paved roads in Europe* List of mountain passes...
were climbed, and André Pottier, the younger brother of 1906 Champion René Pottier
René Pottier
René Pottier was a French racing cyclistPottier won Bordeaux–Paris in 1903 before turning professional. He came second in Paris–Roubaix 1905 and Bordeaux–Paris 1905, then third in 1906’s Paris–Roubaix, before winning the Tour de France in 1906.He was considered the finest climber of the Tour...
, reached the tops first. He could not keep his lead, as the stage was won by Jean-Baptiste Dortignacq
Jean-Baptiste Dortignacq
Jean-Baptiste Dortignacq was a French road bicycle racer between 1900 and 1910. Dortignacq won seven stages in four Tour de France events...
.
In the 9th stage, won by Petit-Breton, Faber jumped to the second position in the overall classification.
In the 13th stage, 415 km from Brest to Caen, the winner Passerieu took more than 16 hours to finish the stage. The last cyclist to finish that stage, Louis Di Maria, would need a record extra 23 hours to complete the stage.
Faber could pose no threat to Petit-Breton, and Petit-Breton won the Tour de France easily. His worst placement had been the 10th stage where he finished 10th at one second from the winner; all other stages he was in the top four, winning five of the stages.
Stage results
| Stage | Date | Route | TerrainIn 1908, there was no distinction in the rules between plain stages and mountain stages; the icons shown here indicate whether the stage included mountains. | Length | Winner | Race leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 July | Paris–Roubaix Roubaix Roubaix is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is located between the cities of Lille and Tourcoing.The Gare de Roubaix railway station offers connections to Lille, Tourcoing, Antwerp, Ostend and Paris.-Culture:... |
 |
272 km (169 mi) | ||
| 2 | 15 July | Roubaix–Metz Metz Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place... |
|
398 km (247.3 mi) | Passerieu and Petit-Breton both had 3 points after the second stage. Some sources indicate that they were joint leader, other sources indicate that Passerieu was the only leader, see article. |
|
| 3 | 17 July | Metz–Belfort Belfort Belfort is a commune in the Territoire de Belfort department in Franche-Comté in northeastern France and is the prefecture of the department. It is located on the Savoureuse, on the strategically important natural route between the Rhine and the Rhône – the Belfort Gap or Burgundian Gate .-... |
 |
259 km (160.9 mi) | ||
| 4 | 19 July | Belfort–Lyon Lyon Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais.... |
|
309 km (192 mi) | ||
| 5 | 21 July | Lyon–Grenoble Grenoble Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère... |
|
311 km (193.2 mi) | ||
| 6 | 23 July | Grenoble–Nice Nice Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of... |
|
345 km (214.4 mi) | ||
| 7 | 25 July | Nice–Nîmes Nîmes Nîmes is the capital of the Gard department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. Nîmes has a rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire, and is a popular tourist destination.-History:... |
|
354 km (220 mi) | ||
| 8 | 27 July | Nîmes–Toulouse Toulouse Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea... |
|
303 km (188.3 mi) | ||
| 9 | 29 July | Toulouse–Bayonne Bayonne Bayonne is a city and commune in south-western France at the confluence of the Nive and Adour rivers, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, of which it is a sub-prefecture... |
|
299 km (185.8 mi) | ||
| 10 | 31 July | Bayonne–Bordeaux Bordeaux Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture... |
|
269 km (167.1 mi) | ||
| 11 | 2 August | Bordeaux–Nantes Nantes Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants.... |
|
391 km (243 mi) | ||
| 12 | 4 August | Nantes–Brest Brest, France Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon... |
|
321 km (199.5 mi) | ||
| 13 | 6 August | Brest–Caen Caen Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel.... |
|
415 km (257.9 mi) | ||
| 14 | 9 August | Caen–Paris | |
251 km (156 mi) |
After the last stage, there was a timed lap of 666 m at the Parc des Princes
Parc des Princes
The Parc des Princes is an all-seater football stadium located in the southwest of Paris, France. The venue, with a seating capacity of 48,712 spectators, has been the home of French football club Paris Saint-Germain since 1974. The current Parc des Princes was inaugurated on 4 June 1972, endowed...
velodrome in Paris, won by Henri Cornet
Henri Cornet
Henri Jardry called Henri Cornet was a French cyclist who won the 1904 Tour de France. He is its youngest winner, just short of his 20th birthday.-Background:...
in 51.2 s. This was not counted as an official stage and had no influence on the overall classification.
General classification
Of the 114 starting cyclists, 36 finished. The Peugeot team had dominated the race; not only did their cyclists win all 14 stages, but they also had the top four places in the general classification. Even though cyclists entered the race as individuals, officially not connected to sponsors, most cyclists had a sponsor.
| Rank | Rider | Sponsor | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peugeot–Wolber Peugeot (cycling team) Peugeot team was a French professional cycling team that promoted and rode Peugeot racing bikes.It is listed as the most successful cycling team of all time, on www.cyclingranking.com, with a large margin on the second placed team, Alcyon.-History:... |
36 | |
| 2 | Peugeot–Wolber | 68 | |
| 3 | Peugeot–Wolber | 75 | |
| 4 | Peugeot–Wolber | 91 | |
| 5 | Alcyon–Dunlop Alcyon (cycling team) Alcyon is a former French professional cycling team that was active from 1906 to 1955. It was owned by Alcyon, a French bicycle, automobile and motorcycle manufacturer.- History :... |
120 | |
| 6 | Peugeot–Wolber | 125 | |
| 7 | Peugeot–Wolber | 134 | |
| 8 | Peugeot–Wolber | 142 | |
| 9 | Alcyon–Dunlop | 153 | |
| 10 | 160 |
Other classifications
Second-placed François Faber became the winner of the "pneus démontables" category.The organising newspaper l'Auto named Gustave Garrigou
Gustave Garrigou
Cyprien Gustave Garrigou was one of the best professional racing cyclists of his era. He rode the Tour de France eight times and won once...
the meilleur grimpeur. This unofficial title is the precursor to the mountains classification.
Aftermath
Lucien Petit-Breton became the first cyclist to win two Tours de France. He wrote a book about his life, "Comment je cours sur route". This became a success, and he started to write cycling columns for newspapers. In the next Tour in 19091909 Tour de France
The 1909 Tour de France was the seventh Tour de France, taking place from 5 July to 1 August 1909. It consisted of 14 stages over , ridden at an average 28.658 km/h. The results were computed by points accorded finishing positions on each stage, the rider with fewest points at the end of the...
, Petit-Breton did not participate as a cyclist, but followed the race as a columnist.